Peanut butter is a popular and delicious snack all around the world. It is regularly used in sandwiches as a spread, and with its great smooth texture, it is a key ingredient in vegan, gluten-free, and ketogenic recipes – and of course in pre-workout and post-workout smoothies.
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Peanut butter for pre-workout and post-workout nutrition
Peanut butter is a very popular snack among bodybuilders and fitness lovers, and its delicious flavor isn’t the only reason.
It’s a fact that people who work out regularly need extra calories to fuel their bodies. Peanut butter is an excellent choice because of its high calories and unsaturated fat content.
Peanut butter’s protein level is also another important factor why this superfood is the first choice of bodybuilders to add to their pre-workout and post-workout snacks. Protein is needed for muscle growth and repair.
To strengthen and preserve your muscle mass, peanut butter is a great choice and one that’s packed with magnesium and potassium too.
Peanut butter for pre-workout meal
The ideal time to have your pre-workout meal is between 30 minutes to 2 hours before your workouts. You can spread 1 tbsp of peanut butter on your whole wheat bread before exercising or make a small sandwich, with adding other ingredients too.
If you’re avoiding gluten, you can eat an apple/pear/banana and 2 tbsp of peanut butter.
If you don’t have much time before your workout, just eat 2 tbsp of peanut butter about 10 minutes before starting your exercise routine or going out for a run.
Peanut butter for post-workout meal
Peanut butter is an excellent choice for adding to your post-workout meal or snack because it has a high protein level.
Muscle growth occurs after the workout, therefore you should fuel up your body with nutritious food to speed up this process. That’s why having your post-workout meal within a maximum of 2 hours after your training, but preferably sooner than 2 hours is very important.
We recommend that you eat a full meal after your workout session, but if you don’t have much time you can blend a tablespoon of peanut butter with banana, milk, or yogurt as a post-workout smoothie.
Is peanut butter good for weight loss?
Over time, several studies have shown that peanut butter is a great snack to add to your diet if your goal is weight loss and weight control.
All the nuts, including peanuts, make you feel more satiated thanks to their protein, fat, and fiber content.
Even though people tend to avoid eating fatty food during a weight loss journey, the fatty acids in nuts take longer for our bodies to digest. Prolonged digestion keeps you feeling fuller for longer and reduces the risk of overeating.
But, you shouldn’t exceed the limit of 2-3 tablespoons of peanut butter per day. 2 tbsp of peanut butter is around 34 g and contains 188 calories.
Peanut butter nutrition facts
Peanut butter is high in calories. 1 tablespoon (tbsp) of peanut butter contains 94 calories, but it also has high nutritional values. So even if you’re aiming to lose weight, peanut butter can be on your diet list to make you feel fuller as a pre or post-workout snack.
If you’d like to use peanut butter in your recipes instead of eating it as a dip, there are many peanut butter recipes out there, because of its delicious flavor and many benefits, including helping weight loss.
The most popular peanut butter recipes are peanut butter cookies, peanut butter bars, peanut butter fudge, and peanut butter brownies. You can add 1-2 tablespoons of peanut butter to your snack recipes to give a viscous texture and a slightly salty taste.
Is peanut butter a good source of protein?
There is of course a reason why peanut butter is used so often in bodybuilding, fitness, and weight loss diets. One of the most important reasons is the high protein ratio of peanut butter.
1 tbsp of peanut butter is around 17 grams. This amount contains 4.1 grams of protein, which makes the 25% of the peanut butter! It’s a great ratio for bodybuilding and losing weight.
Other nutritional values of peanut butter are as follows:
Nutritional values (1 tbsp = 17 g) of peanut butter
- Calories: 94 kcal
- Protein: 4.1 g
- Total carbohydrates 3.6 g
- Total Fat 8.4 g
- Saturated Fat 1.3 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Dietary fiber: 1.4 g
- Sugars: 0.8 g
- Sodium 59 mg
- Potassium 108mg
- Magnesium: 28 mg
- Calcium: 8 mg
- Iron: 0.35 mg
- Zinc: 0.42 mg
- Niacin: 2.10 mg
- Vitamin B6: 0.9 mg
- Vitamin E: 0.95 mg
Is peanut butter healthy?
One of the first things that come to mind when thinking about peanut butter is that some people are allergic to peanuts. People who fall into this category should definitely avoid eating peanut butter, as it may have serious side effects.
Despite being very popular, you may ask if peanut butter is healthy for those who aren’t allergic, and if so, what are the potential benefits? These are the questions frequently asked by many peanut butter enthusiasts.
Long story short, yes, peanut butter is very healthy. To make things clear about the health facts, have a look at the most important health benefits of peanut butter.
Health benefits of peanut butter
Although peanut butter contains saturated fat, it is still healthy when you consider the whole package, as it also contains a variety of macro and micronutrients. Here are the top 2 health benefits of peanut butter.
Improves heart health
Research shows that people who eat unsalted nuts and nut butters are less likely to develop heart disease. [1]
This is because most of the nuts, including peanuts, have many nutrients that are good for heart health, such as:
- Unsaturated fatty acids (like oleic acid, which is the main fatty acid in olive oil too. It helps maintain good cholesterol and blood pressure.)
- Niacin
- Magnesium
- Vitamin E
Manages blood sugar levels
The oleic acid in peanut butter is also a good source of fatty acid that helps your body keep your blood sugar levels balanced.
Being low in carbs and high in protein, healthy fats, and fiber, peanut butter doesn’t create fluctuations in blood glucose. For peanut butter to have this positive impact, you should choose one with no added sugar or sweeteners.
You can add peanut butter to your breakfast or your mid-day snack to make yourself feel full for longer, as it doesn’t impact your glucose-insulin levels.
People with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes can benefit from peanut butter too, because having continuously high blood sugar leads to low levels of magnesium. Peanut butter is known to be a good source of magnesium. [2]
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) suggests adding 46 g of peanuts or peanut butter to your daily diet.
The renowned oleic acid in peanut butter (which is also the main fatty acid in olive oil) reduces the body’s insulin resistance as well.
To sum up
In addition to all these benefits, peanuts and peanut butter have high levels of antioxidants which are essential for preventing and repairing cell damage.
Bear in mind that it’s important to check the label when buying peanut butter. Sugar, sweeteners, salt, vegetable oil, and trans fats are common additives that will minimize the nutritional value and benefits of peanut butter.
While peanut butter has many health benefits, eating in moderation is key to getting the most out of it. 2-3 tbsp of peanut butter is enough to eat in a day whether you’re aiming to lose weight, build muscle or just add a different taste to your snacks.
